All-Star Voting for the Starters ended on Sunday, with the final ballot numbers to be released on Thursday in TNT at Madison Square Garden (Friday for those in the Motherland). Heat vs Knicks being the reason why Ernie and his crew will be in Broadway instead of their cushy Atlanta studios. A week after that, the All-Star Reserves are to be named.
Now, if the Atlantic Division were to set up an All-Star team of their own, this would be their logical pool of candidates:
Boston Celtics - Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett
New Jersey Nets - Devin Harris, Brook Lopez
New York Knicks - Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Amar'e Stoudemire, Danilo Gallinari
Philadelphia 76rs - Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, Jrue Holiday
Toronto Raptors - Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan
Based from this, I believe this would be their roster composition.
Coach: Doc Rivers - All about Ubuntu.
Starters:
Guard: Rajon Rondo - The guy can serve it up to anyone, anywhere.
Guard: Ray Allen - As what Bill Simmons has been pointing out, he's turned into Reggie Miller 2.0
Forward: Paul Pierce - He has said he's the best player in the world. And he has his followers (you know who you are) who will back up that statement.
Forward: Kevin Garnett - Face it, Boston's title chances lie in with his health.
Center: Amar'e Stoudemire - MVP Candidate. The Spotlight is on him in Broadway, and has met the challenge of bringing the Knicks back to respectability.
Reserves:
Guard: Raymond Felton - Has become adept in running the SSOL. He is definitely not Steve Nash, but he has definitely arrived as a playmaker.
Guard: Devin Harris - Now free from the burden of the Melo-drama (thanks to Mutant Russian billionaire owner), he can do what he always does, score and handle the ball.
Center: Andrea Bargnani - Toronto's best offensive weapon
Forward: Wilson Chandler - Dutifully handling what the Matrix's role was in the SSOL in Phoenix, albeit at a smaller extent, numbers-wise. (Shawn Marion was fantasy gold in the heyday of the SSOL in the middle 00's)
Guard: DeMar DeRozan - Definite candidate for the Most Improved Player race. Solid #2 option for what was supposed to be a moribund Raptors franchise (and probably still would be if not for the state of the Cavs and the Wizards).
Center: Brook Lopez - One of the better young bigs in the league. If he can raise his disappointing rebounding numbers, he'll be taken a little more seriously than what he is right now.
Guard: Jrue Holiday - I thought that he showed the most marked improvement in Philly.
Inactive Roster:
Forward: Andre Iguodala - The most talented player on the Philly roster. He's my biggest omission to this squad.
Guard: Jose Calderon - Had to leave him off because of the PG's ahead of him.
Forward: Elton Brand - He'll probably never ever live up to the contract the Sixers gave him, but definitely a bounce-back season for him.
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